Linguistic Construction of Forced Optimism A Transitivity-Based Study of Toxic Positivity in Dr. Quratulain Bakhteari’s TED Talk

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the transitivity patterns in the TED Talk by Dr. Quratulain Bakhteari. The study also aimed to explicate how the linguistic choices contribute to the construal of toxic positivity in the feminist discourse. Based on the Systemic Functional Linguistics, especially the transitivity model (Halliday, 1994), the study employed a mixed- method design. The study employed a quantitative frequency analysis of the types of processes. Then, the roles of various processes and participants were explained qualitatively to interpret their discursive meanings. Analysis showed that there was a prevalence of material and relational processes, whereas the mental processes acted as mediators that converted the emotional experiences into cognitive and moral solutions. The participants, like I, and pain were central in creating a self that was seen as active and strong, but one which was not emotional. The results are valuable to discourse and gender researchers since they show how the linguistic constructions could normalize the endurance of emotion and self-control in the name of empowerment and provide an insight into how feminist rhetoric could reproduce the nuances of toxic positivity